Cyclists bike down Dexter Avenue in Seattle in 2009. A British Medical Journal study published Wednesday suggests that cyclists have a lower risk of heart problems or cancer than those who commute using a different method. Oran ViriyincyFlickr

Cyclists bike down Dexter Avenue in Seattle in 2009. A British Medical Journal study published Wednesday suggests that cyclists have a lower risk of heart problems or cancer than those who commute using a different method. Oran ViriyincyFlickr

The study, which spanned 5 years and more than 260,000 British commuters, looked at their risk of heart problems or cancer depending on how they got to work. The results, even when controlled for related factors like smoking, weight and diet, showed that cycling could slash riders’ risk of cancer or heart disease almost in half.

Cyclists, the University of Glasgow researchers found, were 41 percent less likely to die from any cause than their counterparts who didn’t exert active effort on their commute. Those who took public transportation, for example, were more likely to suffer heart attacks or be diagnosed with cancer during the study.

Even those who rode a bike only a portion of their commute still saw benefits, though not as pronounced, Time Magazine reported. Those bikers had a 24 percent lower risk compared to those who didn’t bike or walk at all during their commute. Walkers had a comparable level of risk — those who traveled by foot had a 27 percent lower risk of heart attacks, according to the study.

Never miss a local story.

Sign up today for unlimited digital access to our website, apps, the digital newspaper and more.

2 teens sought for viral video sexual assault

Man stops to play ‘Taps’ in honor of military crash victims killed in Mississippi

Watch the release of the world's smallest rabbit in southeast Oregon

Residents of Sacramento, West Sacramento and Davis soon can rent a bike on the sidewalk with a tap of their smart phone and leave it a few blocks or miles away at a street rack when done. Local officials on Thursday, April 20, 2017, said they will sign a deal with Social Bikes, known as SoBi, an international bike-share, to bring a fleet of cycles to city streets starting next month. Here's how the program will work. Video courtesy Social Bicycles

Part of the difference between bikers and walkers had to do with the distance they travelled, researcher Jason Gill told Time. Bikers were inherently more likely to cycle longer distances since they were traveling from further away, and the study found that bikers traveled 30 miles a week on average, compared to the six miles that walkers averaged, he said.

“This is really clear evidence that people who commute in an active way, particularly by cycling, were at lower risk,” Gill told the BBC.

The finding isn’t exactly surprising — more physical activity has been long been linked to healthier lives, particularly when it comes to heart health. But the study reminds readers that even the dead time taken up by a work commute can be used to improve your health, researchers said.

“What these results suggest is that active commuting is a possibility for a much wider range of people than those who live within a narrow circumference of where they work,” Gill told Time. “If we can change cities so that it’s easier for people be more active, then people will be.”